GROWING WATERMELON [IN CONTAINERS]

As summer is on its way to fry us out all our allies will come to our mind in due of course. A bit to military, Isn’t it? However, we have to admit we do not even remember the things that help us throughout the summer until the harsh star hit us with heat. This is a real problem and what we lack is anticipation. So we thought why not get ready for summer? Hey, after all PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE! So let us get on with something juicy. What about Melons? Tasty enough right! Let us then see about Growing Watermelon.

Growing watermelons in containers is an excellent way for a gardener with limited space to grow these refreshing fruits. Whether you are doing balcony gardening or are simply looking for a better way to use the limited space you have, container watermelons are possible and fun. Understanding how to grow watermelon in containers successfully just requires a little bit of knowledge. So How to Grow Watermelon in Containers here we give you some major and important steps in growing these juicy giants.

SELECTING THE RIGHT CONTAINER

First thing is first. Successfully growing watermelons in pots starts before you even plant your watermelon seed. You need to choose a pot that will be large enough for your container watermelon to thrive. Watermelons grow rapidly and require plenty of water, so it is recommended that you go with a 5-gallon or larger size container. Make sure that the container you will be growing watermelons in has enough drainage holes.

SOIL

Fill the watermelon container with potting soil or other soilless mix. Do not use dirt from your garden. This will compact quickly in the container and will make growing watermelons in containers difficult. Along with this soil there is a great change that this soil may contain pathogens that may harm the plant as watermelons are prone to be affected easily. As we already stated watermelon needs, loose and easy draining soil so that the roots can be aerated at all times. Along with that these are heavy nitrogen feeders so fish fertilizer, vermicompost and other organic fertilizer may come in handy.

SUPPORT

Before you could ever imagine growing watermelon, the very first thing that should come in our mind should be space. Watermelons occupy a lot of space, which unfortunately most of us don’t have the luxury to afford to. Hey don’t worry we have captain container to help us out here. Even though we can grow them in containers they need space to spread and we are in need to provide supports to them. There are variety of supports we can build up for the vines to climb up(It depends on the space and cost).

CHOOSING THE VARIETY

Next, you need to choose a variety of watermelon that will do well in pots. When planting watermelon in pots, you need to look for a compact variety that grows small fruit as the vines are naturally designed not to carry the whole wait by themselves. These may include:

Moon and Stars watermelon

Sugar Baby watermelon

Crimson Sweet watermelon

Early Moonbeam watermelon

Jubilee watermelon

Golden Midget watermelon

Jade Star watermelon

Millennium watermelon

Orange Sweet watermelon

Solitaire watermelon

PLANTING

Once you have selected the container watermelons you will grow, place the seed into the soil. The seed should be plant 3 times deeper than it is long. Water the seed well. You can also transplant a seedling that has been started indoors or bought form a nursery into the soil. Whether you are planting seeds or a seedling, make sure that all chances of frost have passed outside. Personally, I would recommend to try both. In that case, we can make sure that we are getting a long harvest throughout the season and also we can enjoy the seed sprouting along with the kids.

WATERING

These are very thirsty plants and needs more water to grow well. (SPOILER: Hence the name water-melon). We must ensure the roots don’t stay dry and don’t rot in water at the same time. The easy way to find out the water requirement is by inserting our finger 3-5inches deep into the soil. If it seems dry then we better water it up.

Another important thing to remember is to be careful not to wet the leaves as the moisture may attract some fungal attacks. To avoid this, we can water in the morning so that by the day passes the moisture on the leaves would dry out.

Therefore, we have covered the first step in successfully growing watermelons in containers. Hope this was useful to you. We will be making another post on further things like HOW TO CARE FOR WATERMELON etc. Make sure that you are stay tuned to our blog and hey you can even follow us on social media to get instant updates. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get the latest videos about farming. Let us know your doubts in comments. Thank you! Happy farming!